Styling a Map Layer

Styling a Map Layer

Overview

It is recommended to use the styling tool to make your different Map Layers appear different to each other. This helps you when composing a map to show to others. Different icons, colours and labels will make the map more useful to the reader.



Style Types

There are two style types to choose from:

Single

A Single style means that all features within a Map Layer will look the same.

Class Based

Choosing a Class-based style means that features can be made to look different based on the attribute records that are stored within them. Examples when you might use a class-based style:

  • To show assets in different colours to make it easier to differentiate them. e.g. a layer of Bin assets, some of which are Dog Waste Bins and some are General Recycling.
  • To show the Status of something. e.g. to change the colour of a polygon representing an allotment's lease status.
  • To highlight points that need attention. e.g. Trees that are due to be surveyed.


Symbol Options

By default the style for a Point layer will be a red circle symbol, but there are a few different options:

Vector Symbols

You can choose from the following symbols:



Graphical Icons

Switch to the graphical icons by clicking on the word "Symbol" and change the drop-down to Icon.


And then click on the "three blobs" button which will bring up the Icon selector:



Styling a Layer

To style a Map Layer:

  1. Click the small cog that appears when you hover over the far-right of the Layer entry in the Layer Control.
  2. Click Style in the pop-up window.
  3. Work from left to right in the interface, firstly choosing a Style Type.
  4. Choose the colours and settings that you want. A preview will appear on the right hand side.
  5. Once you're happy with the style, click Save in the bottom right.


Labels

You can expose information stored within a feature to show as a label on the map.

  1. Choose a Column from the Map Layer that has the text you want. This is usually something like 'Name' or 'ID'.
  2. Choose a label style in the Labels panel adjacent to the Preview.
  3. If you have Class-based styling selected, click the Copy icon in the top right to copy the label style to all classes.

When you change the text stored within a feature, the label will automatically update.


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